'Uber-Man': A primer in how to be one.

I've started contemplating children and child rearing within the past 2-3 years. I'm in no position to do so at this time, but I may very well in the future. It's a decision that should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately it often is due to ignorance or just plain stupidity.

I do wonder how one's psyche changes when it is not simply about self-preservation anymore. There is one to protect, and one to care for now. Behavioral patterns change, paternal instincts kick in - so much more to discover about being human.

When one is not geared towards self-preservation, or preservation of any kind, the world ceases to hold threats, and holds only wonders. This is the natural state of man!

Why do you need to preserve yourself? Firstly, what is so important about any organism that it ought continue? Only the ego, the distinct sense of "I" as this one manifestation, considers itself necessary to existence (for it knows nothing other than itself). Secondly, what have you ever truly done to preserve yourself? Was it not always the "external world" that provided for you? Your energy comes from the Sun, your body from the Earth, your breath from the Skies and your blood from the Seas: it is these forces that sustain you. You will return to Death when the stars are right. Don't strive to survive; it'll happen for as long as it needs to. Enjoy this moment, or you'll miss this experience.

I've started contemplating children and child rearing within the past 2-3 years. I'm in no position to do so at this time, but I may very well in the future. It's a decision that should not be taken lightly. Unfortunately it often is due to ignorance or just plain stupidity.

I do wonder how one's psyche changes when it is not simply about self-preservation anymore. There is one to protect, and one to care for now. Behavioral patterns change, paternal instincts kick in - so much more to discover about being human.

I appreciate your sentiment here, but I didn't mean emotionally. I meant more practically (financially). I wouldn't want to bring someone into this world with my partner if neither of us had jobs.

Actually this is what I was talking about. Children really aren't as expensive as most would lead you to believe. Your son really doesn't need that pair of baby Chuck Tailors that he is going to grow out of very fast.

I appreciate your sentiment here, but I didn't mean emotionally. I meant more practically (financially). I wouldn't want to bring someone into this world with my partner if neither of us had jobs.

Actually this is what I was talking about. Children really aren't as expensive as most would lead you to believe. Your son really doesn't need that pair of baby Chuck Tailors that he is going to grow out of very fast.

I get you, and I wouldn't buy those expensive things, but I'm still a student with no permanent employment as of yet.

Oh and Cargest - sleeping, exercising, and thinking help to preserve one's self. I hope you still do those!

Nope, haven't done them for a while - my body sleeps and exercises, and my mind is aware of thoughts, but I'm pretty comfortable just casually observing the whole process ; )

If the denizens of this forum managed to reproduce prodigiously over the next few years, World Crumple would be avoided for quite some time, if not altogether diverted. There are enough intelligent people here that our spawn would be able to take the US and China with common sense and Metal.

I get the feeling that the importance of intelligence has been rather overplayed in Western society. It is undoubtedly a very useful thing, but how useful, compared to other things? Seems to me that the intelligent man cares little for intellect, in the same way the two-legged man cares less about his two legs than the legless man might.

Character might be something worth elevating in an individual's eyes. Or honour. Or the capacity for respect and gratitude. These are things that one must cultivate, or not. Unlike intelligence, that, presumably, one is simply born with, or without.

Like a physically beautiful woman, it is the luck of the draw, more than any special effort made at attainment.

One may, I suppose, selectively breed for desirable traits. And this may have its value. But in the real world, chance plays a larger part, and things turn out as they turn out. The Uber-man takes the hand he has been dealt, and maximizes it. The ability and resolve to do this, probably counts for more than raw intelligence.

I've been away for a while... Is Crow a moderator now? A kind of forum death-squad? Is he able to ban people at will? Maybe this is the forum-eugenics thing that certain of us have been hoping for, for years. Still, the vibe is kind of intense. I don't love it.

Intense can be good, when intense is needed. Bans are for outrageously destructive attitudes, and are, initially, temporary. We plan to develop an ability to coexist with each other. Not necessarily to adore, but to coexist. As you say: it was a long time coming, and hopefully, unnecessary again. Meanwhile, rest easy, and do as the Chasm suggests: talk and relax.

Oh and Cargest - sleeping, exercising, and thinking help to preserve one's self. I hope you still do those!

Nope, haven't done them for a while - my body sleeps and exercises, and my mind is aware of thoughts, but I'm pretty comfortable just casually observing the whole process ; )

If the denizens of this forum managed to reproduce prodigiously over the next few years, World Crumple would be avoided for quite some time, if not altogether diverted. There are enough intelligent people here that our spawn would be able to take the US and China with common sense and Metal.